For those advocating trade pre-draft...

[Fireworks_Boom!]

look at the promise both our #3 picks have shown. What could 2 top 5 picks yield us next year?

Patience grasshopper...patience.

We watch the returning (EDIT) Atlantic Conference Champions come back with the addition of an all star (Hayward), a promising #3 pick (JT), a rebounding and defensive minded back-up center and an additional big who brings some toughness (Marcus Morris).

[Chris22]

look at the promise both our #3 picks have shown. What could 2 top 5 picks yield us next year?

Patience grasshopper...patience.

We watch the returning Eastern Conference Champions come back with the addition of an all star (Hayward), a promising #3 pick (JT), a rebounding and defensive minded back-up center and an additional big who brings some toughness (Marcus Morris).

We may have dodged a bullet with the Paul George thing.
A one year rental might not be worth what we would have to pay.
Danny is awesome.

[Darío SpanishFan]

look at the promise both our #3 picks have shown. What could 2 top 5 picks yield us next year?

Patience grasshopper...patience.

We watch the returning Eastern Conference Champions come back with the addition of an all star (Hayward), a promising #3 pick (JT), a rebounding and defensive minded back-up center and an additional big who brings some toughness (Marcus Morris).

Where have I been those last months? 

[chilidawg]

look at the promise both our #3 picks have shown. What could 2 top 5 picks yield us next year?

Patience grasshopper...patience.

We watch the returning Eastern Conference Champions come back with the addition of an all star (Hayward), a promising #3 pick (JT), a rebounding and defensive minded back-up center and an additional big who brings some toughness (Marcus Morris).

We may have dodged a bullet with the Paul George thing.
A one year rental might not be worth what we would have to pay.
Danny is awesome.

Given what Butler and George brought in return I don't think we would have had to trade Brown or any of the likely lottery picks.  I'm fine with not making the trade, but adding Butler or George would have been pretty sweet.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

look at the promise both our #3 picks have shown. What could 2 top 5 picks yield us next year?

Patience grasshopper...patience.

We watch the returning Eastern Conference Champions come back with the addition of an all star (Hayward), a promising #3 pick (JT), a rebounding and defensive minded back-up center and an additional big who brings some toughness (Marcus Morris).

We may have dodged a bullet with the Paul George thing.
A one year rental might not be worth what we would have to pay.
Danny is awesome.

Given what Butler and George brought in return I don't think we would have had to trade Brown or any of the likely lottery picks.  I'm fine with not making the trade, but adding Butler or George would have been pretty sweet.

I think the price for Boston would've been higher than the prices other teams ended up paying. I think other GMs are mostly smart enough to realize that Boston could offer more in trade than any other team, so those GMs would've demanded more.

Me, I've never been that high on Butler, and George is a pretty big flight risk. I like where the team is at.

[BostonClamCrowdah]

None of you know what Brown or Tatum will turn out to be.

Call me in three years

[CelticsElite]

look at the promise both our #3 picks have shown. What could 2 top 5 picks yield us next year?

Patience grasshopper...patience.

We watch the returning Eastern Conference Champions come back with the addition of an all star (Hayward), a promising #3 pick (JT), a rebounding and defensive minded back-up center and an additional big who brings some toughness (Marcus Morris).

We may have dodged a bullet with the Paul George thing.
A one year rental might not be worth what we would have to pay.
Danny is awesome.

Given what Butler and George brought in return I don't think we would have had to trade Brown or any of the likely lottery picks.  I'm fine with not making the trade, but adding Butler or George would have been pretty sweet.

Butler is overrated.. Plus those contracts would have required major gutting of the team 

[Fireworks_Boom!]

look at the promise both our #3 picks have shown. What could 2 top 5 picks yield us next year?

Patience grasshopper...patience.

We watch the returning Eastern Conference Champions come back with the addition of an all star (Hayward), a promising #3 pick (JT), a rebounding and defensive minded back-up center and an additional big who brings some toughness (Marcus Morris).

Where have I been those last months? 

Haha...meant to type Atlantic. Freudian slip I suppose.

[Roy H.]

Are either Brown or Tatum likely to become as good as Paul George?

I'm happy enough with the off-season, but nobody has been proven right yet. That's without even touching the argument that we could have landed another star without even touching the picks.

[BostonClamCrowdah]

Are either Brown or Tatum likely to become as good as Paul George?

I'm happy enough with the off-season, but nobody has been proven right yet. That's without even touching the argument that we could have landed another star without even touching the picks.

Odds are they won't be as good ever

[Fireworks_Boom!]

Are either Brown or Tatum likely to become as good as Paul George?

I'm happy enough with the off-season, but nobody has been proven right yet. That's without even touching the argument that we could have landed another star without even touching the picks.

Why place so much stock in the argument that we could've landed another star without a pick yet so little stock in our young guys showing the potential to be as good as PG?

At least we've seen our young guys play and show signs of significant capability.

We can only project that Ainge was held to a higher standard in trade discussions given our abundance of draft picks.

[cousytoheinsohn]

look at the promise both our #3 picks have shown. What could 2 top 5 picks yield us next year?

Patience grasshopper...patience.

We watch the returning Eastern Conference Champions come back with the addition of an all star (Hayward), a promising #3 pick (JT), a rebounding and defensive minded back-up center and an additional big who brings some toughness (Marcus Morris).

We may have dodged a bullet with the Paul George thing.
A one year rental might not be worth what we would have to pay.
Danny is awesome.

Given what Butler and George brought in return I don't think we would have had to trade Brown or any of the likely lottery picks.  I'm fine with not making the trade, but adding Butler or George would have been pretty sweet.

I think the price for Boston would've been higher than the prices other teams ended up paying. I think other GMs are mostly smart enough to realize that Boston could offer more in trade than any other team, so those GMs would've demanded more.

Me, I've never been that high on Butler, and George is a pretty big flight risk. I like where the team is at.

Double ditto, especially your last graph.

Jimmy and PG are both fine players obviously, but I believe there is a tendency to over-rate both of them a tidge, here and elsewhere.

I really like the group Danny and Brad have put together. It's a truly likable bunch with unlimited upside, in my opinion. They should be tons of fun to watch this season. I expect them to be nose-to-nose with the Cavs, if not better. 

[CelticsElite]

I think Tatum and brown are going to outperform their bargain rookie contracts. That alone is enough not to pull the trigger on pseudo star like butler or george

Plus we would have had to gut the team even more. A team that was a 1 seed 7 wins away from a banner. We added a star that's almost a superstar, a top rookie prospect, and decent role players

[Roy H.]

Are either Brown or Tatum likely to become as good as Paul George?

I'm happy enough with the off-season, but nobody has been proven right yet. That's without even touching the argument that we could have landed another star without even touching the picks.

Why place so much stock in the argument that we could've landed another star without a pick yet so little stock in our young guys showing the potential to be as good as PG?

At least we've seen our young guys play and show signs of significant capability.

We can only project that Ainge was held to a higher standard in trade discussions given our abundance of draft picks.

I'm just asking.  There's a reason for the "Bird in hand is worth two in the bush" saying. Once, the Clippers wouldn't move Livingston for Pierce. The Bulls wouldn't trade Himrich or Deng for the Captain. How many championships did those teams win?

The vast majority of young cores win absolutely nothing, which is something to consider when assessing trades for proven stars.